present participle

present participle

A verb form--made by adding -ing to the base--that often functions as an adjective. 

Examples of present participles:

Walking

Helping

Drinking

Taking

Example sentences:

They are dancing together right now.

John was painting the wall all morning.

I will be sleeping by the time you come back.

Present participles should not be confused with gerunds,which are nouns formed from verbs. Gerunds also end -ing. For example:

I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.

(This is a gerund not a present participle.)